S1E12 - Thunderstruck with Kyle Edwards

The guys recap a win over UVA and series victory at Marshall. Kyle Edwards joins along with ODU Baseball Alum Mike McHugh. Plus a preview of VCU and ULM.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Pride of ODU Collective

he Pride of ODU leverages the power of Old Dominion University alumni and fans to equip student-athletes with the tools and resources necessary for them to excel both during and beyond their time in Norfolk. More importantly, we seek to help student-athletes maximize their NIL opportunities the right way, without ever compromising the values of Old Dominion University and the legacy of all those who have donned the Blue and Silver in the past. To learn more, visit https://theprideofodu.com/

Transcript

Speaker: 00:00:22

Gary: Hello, Monarch fans, and welcome to the Hudson Homer's podcast to steal

: 00:00:26

a line from my friend, Aaron Zielinski,

the best and only ODU baseball podcast.

: 00:00:32

I am joined as always by CB.

: 00:00:35

CB, pretty awesome week here.

: 00:00:38

How are you

: 00:00:38

CB: Pretty great week, man.

: 00:00:39

I mean, it went 3 1.

: 00:00:41

Frankly, I'll be honest, uh, a little

disappointed we didn't win on Friday

: 00:00:44

also, but that was just me being greedy.

: 00:00:46

Like, uh, I think you said on

Twitter, uh, it's not easy to win a

: 00:00:49

road series in the Sun Belt, so we,

we gotta be happy with, uh, taking

: 00:00:54

the series win there at Marshall.

: 00:00:56

And of course, Tuesday at Harbor

Park, Uh beating uva 7 to 4 score

: 00:01:01

wasn't anywhere near that close.

: 00:01:02

They got a few cheap runs at the

end That was just a phenomenal night

: 00:01:06

Gary: Yeah, that was a fun one.

: 00:01:08

And we're going to talk more

about that here in a little bit.

: 00:01:10

We've got a jam packed episode for you.

: 00:01:13

Kyle Edwards is going to

be hopping on with us.

: 00:01:15

To talk about the games this past week

and how he got his nickname Batman.

: 00:01:20

Uh, then we're also gonna have Mike McCue,

who played for ODU, uh, from 85 to 87.

: 00:01:26

They're having a ODU Baseball

Alumni Weekend out at the Buds.

: 00:01:30

Some good opportunities to meet some

alum that are gonna be out there.

: 00:01:33

We've got all that for you.

: 00:01:34

But I think first we gotta do dollars

for dingers and bucks for bags.

: 00:01:39

We hit a few this week, not a ton, but

we are up to 35 for dollars for dingers.

: 00:01:44

And on the bucks for bag side, we are at

63 stolen bases, 63 for 80 on the season.

: 00:01:51

So if you haven't started already, start

putting your dollar bills in a jar or a

: 00:01:55

savings account or something, because, uh,

boys are gonna help drive some donations

: 00:02:00

to help the program moving forward with,

dollars for dingers and bucks for bags.

: 00:02:03

CB: Yeah, because we got what is

it four more weekends, uh, and then

: 00:02:07

conference play So they can they can add

a little damage here for in the year.

: 00:02:10

They can they can up those numbers We're

we're get respectable slowly inching

: 00:02:14

numbers, you know, again, we're not trying

to do too much of anything, but they're

: 00:02:17

uh, They're doing all right on both Yeah,

: 00:02:21

Gary: It's crazy to think of where

we're at in the season and how many

: 00:02:24

games that we have already played.

: 00:02:26

And yeah, I mean, we got two

home Sunbelt series left.

: 00:02:29

That's it.

: 00:02:30

We've got ULM this weekend and

then App State in two weeks.

: 00:02:32

And that's it for the bud.

: 00:02:34

CB: there are only seven games left at

what is currently constructed as the bud.

: 00:02:38

Yeah, that is a kind of crazy.

: 00:02:40

Gary: It's a little scary when

you think about how quickly time

: 00:02:42

flies, but let's talk about the

game over at Harbor park on Tuesday.

: 00:02:47

You, you hit the nail on the head.

: 00:02:49

It was not even as close

as the score indicated.

: 00:02:52

CB: Yeah, it was 7 to 1.

: 00:02:54

I mean, they, they came out three runs of

the first inning, got another run of the

: 00:02:59

second, and, and frankly, UVA really never

looked like they had a shot in the game.

: 00:03:03

Um, yeah, they got a few

runs there in the ninth.

: 00:03:08

Honestly, you know Lincoln Ransom had

pitched a really great eighth inning.

: 00:03:12

I didn't really agree with him

coming back out for the ninth inning.

: 00:03:15

Uh, I think it should have been

Vincent Becherra the whole time.

: 00:03:18

Uh, if nothing else just because

you know Bash, he's a senior.

: 00:03:21

He's from Norfolk.

: 00:03:22

He's one of the few kids

who's actually from Norfolk.

: 00:03:24

For him playing at Heartland

Park was a big deal.

: 00:03:27

I know he went over and thanked

Finney at the end of the game for

: 00:03:30

letting him get the pitch in the game.

: 00:03:32

And so he having Bash come out and be

able to close out the end of the game.

: 00:03:36

Was a big and yeah, they scored a few

runs, but it really and you know, they

: 00:03:40

had big hitters up and a chance I mean,

I think it was uh, ethan anderson came

: 00:03:44

up with a chance to tie the game I

still really wasn't worried about it.

: 00:03:48

Uh, despite knowing ethan

anderson from cox high school is

: 00:03:50

a phenomenal baseball player He's

been killing it for uva all year.

: 00:03:54

I wasn't worried about it.

: 00:03:54

Uh, so What a night what

a wonderful fun night

: 00:03:57

Gary: It was a great night and yeah,

when bash came in, I figured, all

: 00:04:00

right, UVA is probably going to put

up a couple of runs, but I think

: 00:04:03

bash is going to get us out of it.

: 00:04:04

Um, I didn't feel as confident early

on because I've seen this UVA team put

: 00:04:09

up a boatload of runs and we've talked

about it here about how they're probably

: 00:04:13

the best, if not the top three, uh,

best offenses in the country, but we

: 00:04:18

just kept kind of stacking some runs.

: 00:04:21

You get three in the first.

: 00:04:22

Come back, get another one there in the

second, adding a couple more in the fourth

: 00:04:26

and the fifth, and, you know, being up

seven to one, they're going into the ninth

: 00:04:31

was definitely a little bit of a relief.

: 00:04:33

And I imagine for the guys on this team

to come out and score early, probably

: 00:04:37

gave them a boatload of confidence.

: 00:04:39

The rest of the game that

they were going to win,

: 00:04:40

CB: Yeah, maybe it's because I was

there and I was like in the dugout I

: 00:04:44

mean, so when I take pictures usually

You You know, I'm right, I'm kind of

: 00:04:47

in our bullpen if I'm on the ODU side.

: 00:04:50

And so I'm there, I'm with the players,

but it's not quite the same as this time.

: 00:04:53

I'm actually, I was in the dugout.

: 00:04:55

Like I was standing on

the steps in the dugout.

: 00:04:57

It's, it is a very different, you know,

you're high fiving guys and they're

: 00:05:00

coming in and out of the dugout, you

know, so it's a very different feel.

: 00:05:03

And I.

: 00:05:05

I was never worried.

: 00:05:06

Uh, Brandon Pond started the game

two and two thirds, gave up one run.

: 00:05:11

Uh, he was exactly what we

needed to start the game.

: 00:05:13

Steven Trone came in.

: 00:05:14

He's been killing it lately.

: 00:05:16

Our side arming, uh, sophomore righty, two

in the third scoreless looked outstanding.

: 00:05:22

And then Nick Slopezio, our

freshmen, two scoreless innings, no

: 00:05:26

walks, two hits, four strikeouts.

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I mean, those three guys just, you know,

Set the tone and just dominated the first,

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uh, what, seven innings of the game.

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Gary: Nick had some

nasty stuff on the mound.

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I mean, striking out four of

the eight batters that he faced.

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Uh, I mean, he had some pretty filthy

stuff and that's the kind of things

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you want to look for in these midweeks

that these guys who are maybe trying to

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crack into the weekend, they're setting

themselves up for next year, just a great

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performance from the pitching staff in

general against one of the best offenses

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in the country, being able to shut them

down like that was really impressive.

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And the offense had their back this time.

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CB: Yeah.

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And it was great.

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And, and of course, like you said, the

offense, we got off to a great start.

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Um, you know, we, we had three

runs there in the first inning.

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Uh, Kyle drove Edwards drove in a run.

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Uh, who else drove in the first

candle of already drove in a run.

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Tyser had a couple of great hits and,

and, you know, he, He looked really good.

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He looked locked in, just

hitting nice hard line drives.

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He even stole a base, uh, which was

incredibly fun to see, uh, Tyser.

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They were in that same kind of attempting

to, um, steal second game to make the

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throw so our guy could steal home.

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They didn't bite.

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So Tyser just took second and got

to do the kind of, uh, rev up,

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vroom, vroom celebration they do

on second base, which is very fun.

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Um, you know, it was

just a really good night.

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I mean, it was, our guys were on the ball.

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The energy was through the roof.

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Um, and a bunch of UVA fans left

sad, which is just very enjoyable.

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Gary: I think the crowd was over 4, 000.

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I mean, I imagine the energy in there

was, was just electric for those guys.

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And hopefully that's sign of things to

come when the new bud is built and we

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start getting bigger crowds at the bud

on a regular basis, but Tyser getting

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a stolen base was not something I

had on my bingo card for Tuesday, but

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we'll gladly take it and put another

dollar in the jar for bucks for

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CB: The best part wasn't the stolen base.

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It was that he went from second to home

on not a like easy play I don't think

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there was a throw ended up but he He

went on the next the next batter got a

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hit and I think it was maybe maverick

It was either maverick or evan holman.

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I'm not i'm off the top of my head

right now, but um, Tyser went second

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to home and looked great doing it.

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So, I mean, typically when he runs, he

looks like he's in pain the whole time,

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which I, I really relate to as I am

in pain the whole time whenever I run.

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Uh, and Jake's a much bigger,

uh, stronger man than I am.

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So, but it was, you know, it was

a great night and it was very fun.

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I saw, I probably didn't see everybody.

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I saw a ton of our alumni.

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Um, a lot of our recent guys for the last

10 years or so were out there watching

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the game, uh, So I saw some of their

families and so it was just that was

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just overall just uh, it's it's always

great When we play at harvard park,

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it's a shame that it's been so long and

hopefully we don't have any issues to

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prevent this from happening Uh every

year because it's just such a fun time.

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It's a great venue

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Gary: It is and with their ranking,

it helps boost our RPI a little bit.

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It helps boost the conference RPI,

which is already in pretty great shape.

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But last I checked, we were

the 3rd best conference by RPI.

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And I want to say, if they were picking

the team of 64, just based on the RPI

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ranking, there would be 9 teams from

the Sunbelt to make the tournament,

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which is just freaking ridiculous.

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Uh, so just another boost for the team

when you talk about anything that could

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happen in the postseason and then also

boosting up your conference as well.

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Uh, cause that was a good day

in general for the Sunbelt.

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Coastal went to UNC and beat them and did

their really long home winning streak.

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So great day for ODU, great

day for the conference and.

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What we all hope is going to be a

lot of Sunbelt teams getting in that

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post season tournament this year.

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CB: You know and that really speaks to

what we've been kind of saying about

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this odu team is they are a very good

team And that when they have a day like

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this so they go out and hit like they can

hit It And the pitching is doing exactly

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what it's been doing all year being

outstanding They can beat anybody here.

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They are beating the number

10 team in the country.

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Probably the best offense in the country

Um, and then went in had a good weekend

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finally got a road series win against

marshall We have some not super strong

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teams I mean again, i'll say every

weekend in the conference is is a tough

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weekend But the teams they're playing the

last four they've got three of them are

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below So Oh, do you and the standings,

they could really get on a little run

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here, have some great momentum going

into the conference tournament, you'd

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be going to conference tournament, if

you make a lot of noise, as you said,

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the Sunbelt is a great conference.

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You end up being, if you're the

runner up and the Sunbelt tournament,

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you're probably going to go.

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To the NCAA tournament.

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So they, the season is really still

in ODU's hands, even though as we

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sit here, what is it, 21 and 18,

nine and nine in conference, you see

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that not super impressive, right?

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But again, the context of what those

numbers are and the fact that they're

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in a great spot to really do some damage

here in the last month of the season.

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Gary: Absolutely.

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And I felt going into this Marshall series

that this was a series that we had to win.

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If we wanted to be in any kind of

serious contention for the Sunbelt

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tournament in terms of seeding.

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Uh, cause I felt like this was a team

that on paper, we should go beat.

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They had been really

tough to beat at home.

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This is the first time they've lost

a series at home in the new ballpark.

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And.

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Didn't quite get off to the best start,

losing 4 2 in that Friday opener.

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But there's a lot more to that story

than the live stats and very fun

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radio broadcasts we all got to listen

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CB: Yeah, man, I, you know,

we all gotta start somewhere.

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I guess that's what I'm

gonna say about that.

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You know, if you listen to the Marshall

stream this weekend, um, I guess

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apparently much like ODU, they can

only, uh, do this video streaming of

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one, uh, Game at a time they chose to

go with softball because softball is

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more competitive for them uh, I guess

there's some karma in the fact that

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uh, Costa carolina went up and beat

the softball in their weekend series,

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uh, but the the stream was pretty

terrible I mean, I think the uh, it was

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a case of you know Nothing wrong again.

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You we all have to break in somewhere

I would have rather had maybe someone

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with some experience and then have

the person with less experience

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kind of be there as, as a extra.

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Uh, it just sounded like, like I said,

I said one day, it sounded like they

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went to the frat house and said, who's

sober enough to drive and somebody

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mumbled me and they just grabbed him

and put them in a booth, uh, the guy.

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It was, I think it was a different

guy doing the, the color commentary or

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whatever, being the second guy in the

booth in the game on Sunday, I don't

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think he'd ever seen a baseball game

before, if I'm being honest, he kept

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saying points, he kept saying that

Marshall had a three point deficit.

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And I was like, I don't, are they going to

do a, are you going to shoot from the arc?

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What are we doing here?

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Uh, so that that was a I mean at one

point I was like Is this actually better

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than just looking at the live stats?

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I'm not i'm not positive that it is.

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Gary: It was somewhat helpful on

Saturday, except they missed an

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entire bat in the ninth inning.

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And then Sunday they went to

commercial and then just didn't

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come back to the game for at least

ten minutes and I turned it off.

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I will say they have some

incredibly nostalgic radio ads.

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Cause I'm guessing it's a local station.

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They probably don't have a lot of ads,

but it was all like old PSAs and like

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funny kind of hacky radio bit stuff.

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That was pretty entertaining, but

it, it looped through about four

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times before I realized they're

never going to go back to the game.

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So I just kind of stopped listening, but.

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There's a, there, there's a reason

that Pierce didn't put that radio

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link in the, uh, pregame social media.

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CB: I mean they're you know, and I can't

even blame them for you know, if you just

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have technical difficulties again I'm

assuming whoever is doing the producing

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is probably a student also and it's it

was very clearly a student radio um,

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and yeah, I did have the wonderful like

terrible acting and there there was a

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uh, a nostalgia field to it, but I mean

I Appreciate it I hope they get better.

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I hope they get the practice helps

because boy it was it was hard

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to listen to I'm glad we won.

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If we, if we, if all that was happening

and we were losing the games, I

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really would have had a bad weekend.

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Gary: That would have made it tougher,

but we did drop the game on Friday.

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But what you probably didn't know

from the radio or the live stats is

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the guys were hitting the ball hard.

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Anyone I talked to who was at the game,

even some of the players will tell you

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they were lighting the ball up with over

a hundred mile an hour exit velocities.

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They were just hitting it.

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Right at people.

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And then on the other side, Marshall

really wasn't getting a lot of great

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contact, but they were finding holes.

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They were dropping the ball in and.

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At the end of the day, a loss is a loss.

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They lost that game.

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But after hearing that from some of

the parents that this wasn't just

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completely inept lineup that we have

seen sometimes from ODU this season,

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especially in road series, I felt

much better going into Saturday.

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But, uh, you know, I thought we

were in great shape on Friday, TJ

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Aiken, leading that thing off with

a solo home run was pretty nice.

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CB: Yeah.

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TJ, you know, he's a big kid.

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Um, he's, he's kind of played with kind

of that athletic fast guy, you know,

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bunt singles and things, but he, he's

every bit of six, two, six, three.

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He's, he's a, when he puts some.

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When we get him here and get

some muscle on him throughout the

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year He's gonna be a guy that's

gonna hit some home runs for us.

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It was nice to see him Uh a little

surprising, but again, once you

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really take a second think about who

he actually is Yeah, it was great to

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see him hit a home run good for him.

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Gary: Kenny LaVarie drove in

the other run with the solo shot

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himself there in the seventh.

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Uh, just couldn't really

string enough hits together and

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find those gaps in that game.

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But I don't think that our

pitching was bad at all.

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I mean, Jay Kass, he got up two

runs and three in the third inning,

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four hits, had three strikeouts.

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Callan Davis came in, uh, he did give up

a run, uh, but he had a, had a strikeout.

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And then John Holobetz.

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four and a third of show of no earned

runs, four hits, four strikeouts.

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Uh, you know, from, from all accounts,

he threw the ball really well.

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Uh, just one of those games where

baseball kind of sucks sometimes

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where the bleeders become hits and

the things that you smoke are outs.

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CB: Yeah, and again john halibut's, uh

friend of the podcast fan of the podcast.

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Love that guy Uh another fantastic relief

outing for him these these long friday

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relief outings Just looking great Uh,

you know, they said four and a third,

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four strikeouts, the one unearned and

Jay Cassidy, you know, that's, I mean,

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: 00:15:22

really two runs and three and a third,

that's what you want out of them.

288

: 00:15:25

I, again, the pitching was good.

289

: 00:15:27

If you give up four runs at a college

baseball game, that's going to

290

: 00:15:31

give you a pretty good shot to win.

291

: 00:15:32

So it just, as you said,

apparently unfortunate luck on

292

: 00:15:35

the hitting side that night.

293

: 00:15:36

Gary: And I will give some

credit to Marshall's pitching.

294

: 00:15:39

I thought that they threw

the ball pretty well.

295

: 00:15:40

Drew Harlow is their starter.

296

: 00:15:42

He went seven, gave up

two runs on four hits.

297

: 00:15:45

No walks, nine strikeouts.

298

: 00:15:47

Uh, Nicholas Weyrich came in, in relief,

got the last two innings, had two

299

: 00:15:51

strikeouts, didn't give up a hit or a run.

300

: 00:15:53

I think the, the big thing I've

noticed from this game, Marshall

301

: 00:15:57

Pitching had 11 strikeouts.

302

: 00:15:58

They only had one walk

and they hit two batters.

303

: 00:16:01

Uh, so they were throwing the ball in the

zone and Harlow was just pumping strikes,

304

: 00:16:06

uh, through seven innings, only through

102 pitches through a boatload of strikes

305

: 00:16:11

in the zone to go challenge hitter.

306

: 00:16:12

So.

307

: 00:16:13

They did a good job on their end and

that's what Marshall had done recently.

308

: 00:16:16

I mean, they limited, uh, a really good

Louisiana offense, uh, to very few runs.

309

: 00:16:21

They just couldn't score.

310

: 00:16:22

Uh, so we got through two of their

three best pitchers on Friday and

311

: 00:16:26

ended up coming out with a loss, but.

312

: 00:16:27

The fortunes changed the rest of

the weekend and I have to give

313

: 00:16:31

some credit here to Ginger Holman.

314

: 00:16:33

Uh, and then also Angie Holobets,

who forwarded the picture.

315

: 00:16:36

Um, I guess Ginger has been sacrificing

rubber chickens after we lose games

316

: 00:16:41

so that we'll win the next one.

317

: 00:16:43

Uh, and before the game on Saturday,

she put one under a lawnmower going

318

: 00:16:47

into Saturday and that, uh, apparently

propelled us to some, some voodoo victory.

319

: 00:16:52

CB: I mean, if she's doing after losses,

we haven't had many losing streaks.

320

: 00:16:55

We haven't lost two in a row often.

321

: 00:16:57

So it's working.

322

: 00:16:58

Keep, keep it going.

323

: 00:16:59

Gary: I ended up seeing

some of the older pictures.

324

: 00:17:00

There was one that was hooked up

to, it looked like, like medical

325

: 00:17:05

leads for like an AED or something.

326

: 00:17:07

And another one, there was a rubber

chicken in a pot of boiling water.

327

: 00:17:10

So there's some, uh, some serious

superstition on the parent group

328

: 00:17:13

CB: Hey, whatever works.

329

: 00:17:14

Cause like I said, we got the

Saturday win three to one.

330

: 00:17:18

Um, again, you know, didn't score

enough runs, but scored more than them.

331

: 00:17:22

You know, I, I would argue three runs

is not going to win you most games,

332

: 00:17:26

but as we saw this weekend or heard

this weekend, or maybe didn't hear this

333

: 00:17:30

weekend, you know, I think Marshall isn't.

334

: 00:17:34

Their pitcher did great though.

335

: 00:17:35

Bryce Blevins, he pitched eight

innings, gave up three runs.

336

: 00:17:38

Only one of them was earned.

337

: 00:17:39

He threw 120 pitches.

338

: 00:17:40

That's, that's one thing Marshall has

kind of consistently done year after year.

339

: 00:17:43

They, they throw their starters a lot.

340

: 00:17:45

Um, which for us as a team has not really

been the case, but he pitched great.

341

: 00:17:50

Just, you know, was on

the wrong end of things.

342

: 00:17:51

Cause Blake Morgan.

343

: 00:17:53

Great start.

344

: 00:17:54

Four innings.

345

: 00:17:55

Uh, only one run a walk for strikeouts.

346

: 00:17:58

Uh, Ben Moore was outstanding

in the middle of the game.

347

: 00:18:01

Uh, three innings, two

strikeouts, only one hit.

348

: 00:18:04

And then Jacob Gomez, he only

needed 16 pitches to pitch two

349

: 00:18:08

scoreless innings and two strikeouts.

350

: 00:18:10

I mean, that was, frankly,

usually he throws more pitches,

351

: 00:18:12

he usually gets more strikeouts.

352

: 00:18:14

I mean, that was just, our pitching

looked, I mean, again, I didn't get to

353

: 00:18:17

see it, but our pitching, uh, was dominant

on Saturday, which was great to see.

354

: 00:18:21

Gary: I thought the pitching

was great all weekend.

355

: 00:18:23

Definitely on Saturday.

356

: 00:18:25

But we were kind of in a funk early.

357

: 00:18:27

We really weren't hitting the ball well.

358

: 00:18:28

Blevins, for Marshall was

really, I mean, he was dominating.

359

: 00:18:33

It was a similar approach that we

saw on Friday where he was pumping

360

: 00:18:35

a lot of strikes into the zone.

361

: 00:18:37

And kind of the, the strategy on him

for a lot of teams is try to run up the

362

: 00:18:41

pitch count and get him out of the game.

363

: 00:18:42

'cause he is one of their best pitchers.

364

: 00:18:44

I think by statistically he was the best.

365

: 00:18:47

Uh, but we, we didn't look real great

at the plate in, in terms of what we

366

: 00:18:50

were seeing and what we were hearing.

367

: 00:18:52

Uh, but Jake Tyser coming through

and breaking the seal with a solo

368

: 00:18:56

home run to right to get us going,

end up getting two more runs in

369

: 00:19:00

that inning because we got guys on

base, because we increased pressure.

370

: 00:19:04

Uh, I think the final scoring on those

last two runs was a passed ball and

371

: 00:19:10

then a throwing error on the catcher.

372

: 00:19:11

So both of the runs were unearned,

but we got runners home from

373

: 00:19:14

second and third on one pass ball.

374

: 00:19:16

And that was it for the offense.

375

: 00:19:18

But that was enough with the

way that our pitching was

376

: 00:19:20

CB: Yeah, and you know, that's a case

of, you know, Marshall, unfortunately

377

: 00:19:23

at this point, I mean, what are they?

378

: 00:19:24

They're 13 and 26.

379

: 00:19:26

They're 6 and 12 in the Sun Belt.

380

: 00:19:28

You know, they're,

they're not a good team.

381

: 00:19:31

I mean, let's just be real.

382

: 00:19:32

They played enough season.

383

: 00:19:33

I think you, it's fair to say that.

384

: 00:19:35

Um, and the sign of not a good team is

you kicked the ball around on defense.

385

: 00:19:38

They had four errors.

386

: 00:19:39

The pass ball didn't count

as part of your errors.

387

: 00:19:42

So it's, it's just a case of, You

know, when you're not good, those

388

: 00:19:47

are the kind of mistakes you make.

389

: 00:19:48

Now, hopefully, with the new stadium

and being in the Sun Belt, a very

390

: 00:19:52

competitive, uh, conference, hopefully

they can start recruiting better and

391

: 00:19:56

getting some better teams in there

and becoming much more competitive in

392

: 00:19:59

the Sun Belt in the next few years.

393

: 00:20:00

I think that's kind of been what's holding

them back for the last several years.

394

: 00:20:03

So, hopefully, in the future, we'll see

a lot more competitive martial teams.

395

: 00:20:06

Gary: Absolutely.

396

: 00:20:07

Well, the finale, the rubber match

on Sunday was definitely not a

397

: 00:20:12

competitive game, but for all the

right reasons, if you're an ODU fan.

398

: 00:20:15

CB: we, we run ruled them as I like

to say, even though, um, it was

399

: 00:20:18

a run rule in, in nine innings.

400

: 00:20:20

Uh, but yeah, I mean, that was one,

uh, again, if you're in the Marshall

401

: 00:20:23

team, I'm sure they've just had a lot

of this this year, even though they

402

: 00:20:27

said the Louisiana series, they held

them close, even though they got swept,

403

: 00:20:30

but this was just a case of, uh, ODU

just dominated them like right from the

404

: 00:20:34

jump, they just scored a ton of runs,

didn't stop scoring, just kept it going

405

: 00:20:39

Gary: Yeah, put up those 12 runs and

somehow did not manage to hit a home run.

406

: 00:20:43

So I think that's the offense we've

kind of been waiting for of truly small

407

: 00:20:48

ball, singles, doubles, getting guys

over sack flies a whole lot of that.

408

: 00:20:52

Uh, you know, if you're going

through our, our lineup here, Bryce

409

: 00:20:55

Jones actually started in left

TJ Aiken was the D H on Sunday.

410

: 00:21:00

Bryce goes two for four

drives in three runs.

411

: 00:21:03

Uh, Evan Holman went two for

three at the dish and had a walk.

412

: 00:21:07

Uh, and then Kyle Edwards, who is going

to be on here in just a little bit, went

413

: 00:21:11

two for four and drove in five runs.

414

: 00:21:13

Uh, so really just up and down.

415

: 00:21:16

The lineup on Sunday, you have production.

416

: 00:21:19

I think everyone had at least a

hit or an RBI who came in the game.

417

: 00:21:23

And that is what you want to see when

you're trying to play this small ball type

418

: 00:21:27

of offense is production one through nine.

419

: 00:21:30

And we got it Sunday.

420

: 00:21:31

CB: and again, Marshall, you know, making.

421

: 00:21:34

Mistakes, you know, we we scored 12 runs

on 10 hits They marshal walked eight guys.

422

: 00:21:39

They hit five guys They didn't actually

make any errors, but they just put so

423

: 00:21:44

many guys on base That at a certain

point you you just can't stop guys from

424

: 00:21:49

scoring Um the number of times I mean,

oh do you I mean we're the left on base

425

: 00:21:53

We had we had 10 guys left on base.

426

: 00:21:55

So I mean there were even more chances

to score Uh, so it was just a case

427

: 00:21:59

of, like I said, I mean, I love seeing

Bryce Jones come out, have a great game.

428

: 00:22:03

Uh, it's been very nice to see,

again, a kid I've been watching since

429

: 00:22:06

he was probably 15 or 16 years old.

430

: 00:22:08

Um, and he's a guy, you know, we

don't think about him necessarily

431

: 00:22:11

being a veteran on this team, but he

is, it is his third year on the team.

432

: 00:22:15

He was a, he was a red shirt and then I

saw as last year as a, as a red shirts

433

: 00:22:19

freshman, didn't play much, didn't get

to play much into this year, but he's.

434

: 00:22:23

He's kind of showing himself as someone

who has been around is a little more

435

: 00:22:26

mature and getting those chances.

436

: 00:22:28

Uh, it's great to see and Evan Holman.

437

: 00:22:30

He's we've talked about his

defense over and over again.

438

: 00:22:33

Evan is phenomenal.

439

: 00:22:35

He threw a guy out in the uva game.

440

: 00:22:37

Um, he's always great behind the dish

and he's such a Good sneaky hitter.

441

: 00:22:41

I mean again two for three in this game

of the walk just a great offensive day

442

: 00:22:45

Gary: We've talked about a lot like

left field had kind of been up for

443

: 00:22:47

grabs, left field had been up for grabs.

444

: 00:22:49

Uh, we kind of threw a new

wrinkle into the mix this weekend

445

: 00:22:52

with Alex Boucher not playing.

446

: 00:22:54

Uh, he came up with a, what

I think is a hamstring injury

447

: 00:22:58

in the final game against JMU.

448

: 00:23:00

Did not play against UVA,

did not play in this series.

449

: 00:23:03

So, Jake Tyser got, you know,

inserted there at first base.

450

: 00:23:06

Uh, I think he had a little bit of a rough

go of it on Friday, but settled in nicely.

451

: 00:23:10

For Saturday and Sunday, but that

allowed Coach Fenwood to keep TJ

452

: 00:23:14

Aiken's bat in the lineup while kind

of having a little bit of a defensive

453

: 00:23:17

upgrade by putting Bryce Jones in left.

454

: 00:23:20

And then everything pays off by

both guys hitting, both guys having

455

: 00:23:23

graded bats and just adding some

more depth to this lineup despite

456

: 00:23:27

missing one of your better hitters.

457

: 00:23:28

Alex Boucher.

458

: 00:23:29

CB: that should be a thing that these

guys should really take out of this

459

: 00:23:32

weekend and feel great about The fact

that they were able to beat uva to win

460

: 00:23:38

a conference series on the road Without

one of their best hitters in the lineup

461

: 00:23:42

I mean that that's a big accomplishment

because if you can hit and compete and do

462

: 00:23:46

this well And then also, again, I don't

know if it'll happen tomorrow against

463

: 00:23:51

BCU, if it'll happen later against ULM,

or if it's going to be another week, you

464

: 00:23:54

know, hamstring injuries are, are tricky.

465

: 00:23:56

Who knows exactly when Alex is going

to come back, but if you can go out and

466

: 00:24:00

compete this well without one of your

best players, that says a lot about

467

: 00:24:03

the, you know, the heart these guys are

showing, which is what you like, the

468

: 00:24:07

grit to go out and compete that way.

469

: 00:24:08

Gary: Absolutely.

470

: 00:24:09

And want to take a look at

the Sunbelt standings here.

471

: 00:24:13

Uh, didn't get a ton of separation this

week with the series that were going on.

472

: 00:24:17

Louisiana, uh, did lose their

series at coastal Carolinas.

473

: 00:24:21

They're 15 and three in conference.

474

: 00:24:23

Now, uh, you got coastal Troy

and Southern miss and a three way

475

: 00:24:26

tie for second at 11 and seven.

476

: 00:24:29

Uh, JMU, Georgia state at 10 and eight.

477

: 00:24:31

And we're with Georgia

Southern at nine and nine.

478

: 00:24:34

Uh, unfortunately we had.

479

: 00:24:35

The ugliest thing that can happen

in a college baseball season,

480

: 00:24:39

App state in Arkansas state tied.

481

: 00:24:41

So you have this ugly eight, nine, and one

for app state right behind us, which is

482

: 00:24:45

going to make it a whole lot of fun for

tiebreakers, uh, going down the stretch,

483

: 00:24:49

but we are two games out of the two seed.

484

: 00:24:54

Uh, and that would be tied for the

number one seed in the east with coastal.

485

: 00:24:59

So I know they have a tiebreaker on us,

but things didn't really shake out as

486

: 00:25:04

much as I think some people were hoping.

487

: 00:25:05

Got a little separation, but not a ton.

488

: 00:25:07

CB: Yeah, I don't think it's going

to, I think you're going to have to

489

: 00:25:09

wait until maybe the last weekend of

the year to see too much separation.

490

: 00:25:12

Cause I mean, it's like,

oh, do you even go.

491

: 00:25:15

Two in one.

492

: 00:25:15

I mean, okay, then you're

right at nine and nine.

493

: 00:25:18

Um, so they're gonna

have to sweep App State.

494

: 00:25:21

That's what I'm getting out of

that, just to keep that ugly, weird

495

: 00:25:24

tie from being, because Arkansas

State, they're not coming back.

496

: 00:25:27

I know if they win the last 12

of the season, I'd be shocked.

497

: 00:25:31

Uh, they're at the bottom.

498

: 00:25:32

Gary: They're going to have a

tough ride down there at four 13

499

: 00:25:35

and one, ugh, saying one after it.

500

: 00:25:38

CB: Do we know how that happened?

501

: 00:25:39

The tie?

502

: 00:25:40

Would they just run out

of time on Sunday or what?

503

: 00:25:42

Gary: I don't know.

504

: 00:25:43

I would, I would guess it's

either time or weather.

505

: 00:25:46

I'm trying to think.

506

: 00:25:46

I think the weather was clear in

both of those locations on Sunday.

507

: 00:25:50

So it might have been a

getaway day timing issue.

508

: 00:25:53

But either way, uh, ties

don't belong in baseball.

509

: 00:25:56

I hate seeing them in the standings.

510

: 00:25:57

I hated it when I was doing SID work and

had to try to figure out tie breakers

511

: 00:26:01

with a, uh, a one in the tie column.

512

: 00:26:04

Uh, so it's not fun, but ODU still has

everything right there in front of them

513

: 00:26:09

to go up and get one of those top seeds.

514

: 00:26:11

And I think their schedule moving forward

can kind of create some opportunities.

515

: 00:26:16

CB: And you know, we talked about, you

know, I think the first podcast of our

516

: 00:26:20

season, you know, before we hit this,

uh, before we even played the games,

517

: 00:26:24

we, we talked about this kind of buzzsaw

here in the middle of the season, right?

518

: 00:26:28

You know, we were going to play, I've

got my schedule coming up, making sure

519

: 00:26:31

I have all the, all the names correct.

520

: 00:26:32

But we played, uh, at UVA,

played three games at Coastal.

521

: 00:26:37

We played at ECU.

522

: 00:26:39

Had JMU to home for three games

and then played UVA at Harbor Park.

523

: 00:26:43

So that was a nine game stretch.

524

: 00:26:45

Uh, if I told you before the year that ODU

went four and five and a nine game stretch

525

: 00:26:50

playing three top 25 teams, will we feel

okay about that prior to the season?

526

: 00:26:58

Gary: know that I would, cause I was

thinking three and six is probably

527

: 00:27:01

the most likely outcome, but.

528

: 00:27:04

uh, they've exceeded my

expectations through that tough

529

: 00:27:06

CB: Yeah.

530

: 00:27:07

I mean, I, I feel, again, I think walking

away, I think they could have won more.

531

: 00:27:10

I think we could have beat

UVA in both those games.

532

: 00:27:13

We lost UVA.

533

: 00:27:14

I think we could have beat ECU.

534

: 00:27:15

Yeah.

535

: 00:27:15

I think we could have won

another one against Coastal.

536

: 00:27:17

So I I think we could have won more

but I think walking out of there Facing

537

: 00:27:23

three top 25 teams in a nine game stretch

Winning a conference series and going

538

: 00:27:28

four and five overall Not too bad.

539

: 00:27:31

And again, I think it speaks to As we

now go to where there's four conference

540

: 00:27:36

weekends left, three of those teams

are below ODU in the standings.

541

: 00:27:41

I think this team is poised to maybe

go out and really dominate their

542

: 00:27:46

competition, uh, and get themselves

in a much better spot going into the

543

: 00:27:51

tournament, make themselves a much better

hot street going into the tournament

544

: 00:27:54

and feeling good heading down there.

545

: 00:27:56

Gary: Yep.

546

: 00:27:56

Definitely a lot of opportunity.

547

: 00:27:57

Well, we're going to take a quick break.

548

: 00:27:59

When we come back, we'll have

our interview with Kyle Edwards,

549

: 00:28:02

and then quickly followed by our

conversation with Mike McHugh

550

: 00:28:05

about ODU baseball alumni weekend.

551

: 00:28:08

So stay tuned and thank

you so much for listening.

552

: 00:28:16

Hello, Monarch fans, and welcome

back to the Hudson Homer's podcast.

553

: 00:28:20

Uh, we have a special guest for you today.

554

: 00:28:22

We are joined by ODU baseball starting

shortstop, Kyle Edwards, Kyle.

555

: 00:28:27

Thanks so much for

hopping on with us today.

556

: 00:28:29

Kyle: Yeah, thank you.

557

: 00:28:29

I appreciate it.

558

: 00:28:30

Gary: I think first and foremost,

like how is the team feeling coming

559

: 00:28:33

off of another series when this time

on the road and also knocking off a

560

: 00:28:37

pretty good and ranked UVA team, I

561

: 00:28:40

Kyle: Uh, we're feeling pretty good.

562

: 00:28:42

Um, the game on, um, I think

it was, no, Tuesday, right?

563

: 00:28:49

Gary: think it was two great.

564

: 00:28:50

Kyle: Um, that was, it was fun.

565

: 00:28:52

I mean, we had 4, 000 fans out there and,

you know, we don't, we don't get that

566

: 00:28:57

type atmosphere at the bud, we get, you

know, good, a good amount, like for, for

567

: 00:29:01

us, but 4, 000 was, was pretty big and it

was just a fun environment to be around

568

: 00:29:05

playing a good opponent and, uh, we just

had a lot of energy and fed off the fans.

569

: 00:29:10

And, uh, we came out swinging

and we're ready to go.

570

: 00:29:15

And then, uh, we got on the bus and.

571

: 00:29:17

Went to, uh, West Virginia, play

Marshall and, uh, it was, it was an

572

: 00:29:24

all around good weekend, you know,

Friday, uh, we hit, we hit some balls

573

: 00:29:28

pretty hard, you know, all around the

yard and, uh, we only got two runs.

574

: 00:29:32

We played some good baseball.

575

: 00:29:34

Um, they had their best guy and

one of their best guys out there.

576

: 00:29:38

And, uh, You know, we had him around

and it just didn't go our way that day.

577

: 00:29:42

But then we came back on Saturday and,

uh, that guy had a pretty good ERA

578

: 00:29:46

and he'd been pitching well all year.

579

: 00:29:48

And we just kind of found some ways to,

to get some runs in and, uh, maneuver

580

: 00:29:54

that went around and that was a good

day at the energy was high and, uh,

581

: 00:29:57

Sunday was just an all around great day.

582

: 00:29:59

Like from the jump, we started off

with a bunch of walks, getting the

583

: 00:30:02

bases loaded in the first inning,

scoring two runs, um, and then we

584

: 00:30:06

just kept them coming from there and

it was just an all around great day.

585

: 00:30:09

It was somewhere on a good day

for the team and good weekend.

586

: 00:30:13

Gary: How good did it feel in that first

inning against UVA to finally break

587

: 00:30:17

through and score on those guys after

two shutouts going up to Charlottesville?

588

: 00:30:21

Kyle: It felt pretty good.

589

: 00:30:23

Uh, they have a good pitching staff.

590

: 00:30:24

So, um, just getting to them, I mean,

third time's the charm and, uh, we've

591

: 00:30:32

played those guys since I've been here

pretty well, uh, you know, they got

592

: 00:30:35

the best of us when we went up there

twice, but that's how it is sometimes.

593

: 00:30:39

And just to get that win, especially

with them being number 10 and just

594

: 00:30:43

to break through was just fun and

just watching all the energy, all the

595

: 00:30:47

pitchers and all the headers, just,

Kind of mess together and being in a fun

596

: 00:30:53

environment was, was really, really cool.

597

: 00:30:56

CB: Yeah, how big of a deal was that?

598

: 00:30:57

I know, I think you told me you had

played at Harbor Park, uh, in high school.

599

: 00:31:02

But, you know, obviously since you've been

at ODU, it's been five years since they

600

: 00:31:05

were able to play a game of Harbor Park.

601

: 00:31:07

Nobody on the team was able to play.

602

: 00:31:08

I think John Keane, who is now

one of our coaches, he was on the

603

: 00:31:12

team last time we played there.

604

: 00:31:14

Even the coaching staff, only Chris

Finwood and Mike Marin are still there.

605

: 00:31:19

So it's the thing that really

nobody had experienced.

606

: 00:31:21

So how was that getting to

play there in a college game?

607

: 00:31:23

Like you said, 4, 000

people, that atmosphere.

608

: 00:31:26

What was that really like?

609

: 00:31:29

Kyle: Uh, it's a lot

different than high school.

610

: 00:31:30

Cause high school, you know,

there's not many fans out there.

611

: 00:31:33

There's, you know, your parents and then

some, some spectators that just come and

612

: 00:31:36

watch and in a high school, like it feels

like you can't get out of the infield.

613

: 00:31:40

Um, but the college atmosphere

is, is pretty crazy.

614

: 00:31:45

And, uh, just a bunch of good ball

players being on the field at once.

615

: 00:31:48

And it just felt like, you know,

it felt like a day you were

616

: 00:31:52

just like in the big leagues.

617

: 00:31:54

It's a big park, um, got a big scoreboard,

got 4, 000 fans filling the stadium

618

: 00:32:00

a little bit and it, it was just fun.

619

: 00:32:03

There's not really much else to say

other than it was just a great day.

620

: 00:32:07

Great place to play

that day and that night.

621

: 00:32:09

And it, you know, turned out in our favor.

622

: 00:32:12

CB: Yeah, my favorite part was

I think about the fifth inning.

623

: 00:32:15

I turned to um, whoever was

standing around me and I said,

624

: 00:32:18

you know, the best part is all

these UVA fans are about to leave.

625

: 00:32:23

Uh, and then you look up in the seventh

inning and there were like three orange

626

: 00:32:26

shirts left in the whole stadium.

627

: 00:32:28

Like, it was great.

628

: 00:32:29

Kyle: Yeah.

629

: 00:32:30

That was, that was, that's pretty cool.

630

: 00:32:31

Always when you get the other

team's fans to leave early.

631

: 00:32:34

CB: You got to play against

Ethan Anderson, who you

632

: 00:32:36

were teammates with at Cox.

633

: 00:32:37

You guys won a state

championship together at Cox.

634

: 00:32:39

Is that cool getting to get

to play against him there?

635

: 00:32:42

Kyle: Yeah.

636

: 00:32:43

It's always good playing against him.

637

: 00:32:44

He's a really good player

638

: 00:32:46

CB: Yeah, it is.

639

: 00:32:46

Kyle: he's had a good season and

still having a good season, obviously.

640

: 00:32:49

And, um, it was just, it's just always

cool, especially with me playing in

641

: 00:32:53

Charlottesville the last two summers.

642

: 00:32:55

So I know a good amount of those guys.

643

: 00:32:57

Um, so it's always fun just

connecting with past teammates

644

: 00:33:01

and, you know, lifelong friends

and it's just always a good time.

645

: 00:33:05

Gary: Friday up at Marshall, you

know, we, we weren't able to watch,

646

: 00:33:08

they weren't streaming the game.

647

: 00:33:09

So we had this janky radio

broadcast and live stats.

648

: 00:33:13

But from everyone I talked to who was

actually at the game, it sounds like you

649

: 00:33:17

all were hitting the ball hard, right?

650

: 00:33:18

Just right at him and kind of

Marshall was getting almost.

651

: 00:33:21

Just finding little holes, blooping

things in, taking advantage of stuff.

652

: 00:33:24

To me, it didn't feel like it was,

you know, a, a bad game, just kind of

653

: 00:33:28

a bad luck kind of situation there.

654

: 00:33:31

Kyle: Yeah.

655

: 00:33:31

I mean, they had, I think they had maybe

eight hits and we had like four or five,

656

: 00:33:36

but, uh, we were barreling some balls up.

657

: 00:33:38

I mean, Luke, who's been, uh,

been tremendous this season.

658

: 00:33:43

He, I mean, he had one of the most

unlucky days I I've seen in a while.

659

: 00:33:47

I mean, he hit four or five balls,

I mean, right at every outfielder

660

: 00:33:51

at a hundred miles an hour.

661

: 00:33:53

And I mean, up and down the lineup,

we were, if we were probably playing

662

: 00:33:57

at the bud, who knows, probably

would've had seven homers, but you

663

: 00:33:59

know, we weren't playing at the bud.

664

: 00:34:00

So we were playing in West

Virginia and it's a new park.

665

: 00:34:04

It was a cool little park.

666

: 00:34:06

Um, there's nothing really around it,

but it was a nice little park to play at.

667

: 00:34:09

And it just, you know,

she wasn't going our way.

668

: 00:34:11

They were.

669

: 00:34:12

They were swinging, they were swinging

the bats and they were just, you know,

670

: 00:34:14

blooping them between, uh, the infield and

our outfielders and through some holes.

671

: 00:34:19

And it's just how, how

the game is sometimes.

672

: 00:34:22

And, you know, you just gotta, you

can't change anything about it.

673

: 00:34:25

It's just how it goes.

674

: 00:34:26

CB: You know, when you talk about

getting through some holes, you

675

: 00:34:28

and Kenny don't let a lot get by

you on that side of the infield.

676

: 00:34:31

I know we had Kenny on, we talked

about how much pride you guys take.

677

: 00:34:36

Um, a lot of trash talking you

guys do about how good you are.

678

: 00:34:40

Like, talk to me about, about that,

about the pride you take in your defense.

679

: 00:34:45

Kyle: Um, I, I take, I

know I take a lot of pride.

680

: 00:34:48

I love defense.

681

: 00:34:49

That's probably one of my favorite

things to do, um, on a baseball field.

682

: 00:34:53

Uh, it's just always been fun

for me no matter where I'm at.

683

: 00:34:56

That's just kind of, that's just

kind of like my bread and butter.

684

: 00:35:00

And, uh, I think, uh, I've played

with Kenny obviously for three years.

685

: 00:35:03

This is the third year now.

686

: 00:35:05

Um, and I think this year Kenny has really

like found a, found a love for defense.

687

: 00:35:12

Like he's, he's always been

good at it, but I think he's

688

: 00:35:14

really found a passion for it.

689

: 00:35:16

And especially with like being next

to him, like we're always like,

690

: 00:35:19

man, this left side, you might as

well just, Hit it somewhere else.

691

: 00:35:22

Cause it's not really

going to get through here.

692

: 00:35:24

Like, so hitters just unlucky kind

of being up there and that's just

693

: 00:35:29

kind of how we take it in every day.

694

: 00:35:30

Like if you want to hit it to the

left side, then, you know, you're

695

: 00:35:33

going to be in a bad mood all game.

696

: 00:35:34

CB: I mean, it is like that.

697

: 00:35:35

You see a, you see a ball hit there

where it is, it's at the point where

698

: 00:35:39

it's surprising if a ball gets through.

699

: 00:35:40

So, I mean, that's impressive

that you guys do that.

700

: 00:35:44

Kyle: yeah.

701

: 00:35:45

Gary: I think Kenny said that if you

hit the ball to the left side, you

702

: 00:35:47

might as well not even run to first.

703

: 00:35:49

I think that was his exact words

on the podcast a few weeks ago.

704

: 00:35:52

Kyle: Yeah.

705

: 00:35:52

That's, that's what we

talked about all the time.

706

: 00:35:55

CB: And you know, what I think

was even more impressive here is

707

: 00:35:57

I've been watching you play ball

since you're about like 14 or so.

708

: 00:36:00

So I've always known you're

outstanding defender.

709

: 00:36:02

Uh, but last year when you came

in, uh, kind of the second half

710

: 00:36:06

of the year, you played a lot of

outfield and didn't miss a beat.

711

: 00:36:10

I mean, you were phenomenal out there

for, I think you were telling me you

712

: 00:36:12

hadn't played hardly any outfield

and you were outstanding at it.

713

: 00:36:15

So I mean, it's just one of those,

it's very impressive to see that

714

: 00:36:17

the athleticism and that baseball

intelligence just goes everywhere.

715

: 00:36:21

Kyle: Yeah.

716

: 00:36:22

Uh, the, honestly, I actually

really liked the outfield.

717

: 00:36:25

Um, if I had a chance to play

outfield, I would love to do it.

718

: 00:36:29

And I would treat it just like shortstop.

719

: 00:36:31

The last time I played the outfield

other than last year was my freshman

720

: 00:36:34

year high school, uh, in the fall

league, uh, when I was at Salem, and I

721

: 00:36:40

was actually playing center field and

I was using an infield mid out there.

722

: 00:36:44

And, uh, then I got to college and

use an outfield mitt obviously.

723

: 00:36:48

And it was like, uh, it was, it felt

just different out there because felt

724

: 00:36:52

like you had a mega mitt, like when

you go to Omaha and you try on that

725

: 00:36:56

mega mitt, that's what it, that's

what it kind of felt like last year.

726

: 00:36:59

But I actually, as much as I

love the infield and shortstop, I

727

: 00:37:04

actually really like the outfield.

728

: 00:37:05

And, um, if one day I was

asked by outfield, I would

729

: 00:37:10

do it with the shortstop.

730

: 00:37:10

No regret and no questions.

731

: 00:37:12

Cause I would love to do it and it's fun.

732

: 00:37:15

CB: Yeah.

733

: 00:37:15

I mean, whoever would choose to

put you out there, they wouldn't

734

: 00:37:17

be making a mistake, man.

735

: 00:37:18

You would, you would hunt them down.

736

: 00:37:19

That's for sure.

737

: 00:37:20

And the arm, I mean, the

arm plays out there too.

738

: 00:37:22

So that's great to see, man.

739

: 00:37:24

Kyle: Yeah.

740

: 00:37:24

It's all it's, it's, it's cool.

741

: 00:37:26

Like watching, like when, when an

outfitter throws somebody out, like.

742

: 00:37:31

I love to see it.

743

: 00:37:32

Cause it like, I've been out there before

and when you throw somebody out, it's

744

: 00:37:37

like the best feeling in the world.

745

: 00:37:38

Cause it's like, you feel like

you have an absolute bazooka.

746

: 00:37:41

CB: Yeah.

747

: 00:37:41

That's one of the few things I ever

was able to do halfway decently in

748

: 00:37:45

baseball was throw from the outfield.

749

: 00:37:46

So I definitely understand that feeling.

750

: 00:37:48

It's, there's nothing better than

getting somebody from, you feel like

751

: 00:37:50

you're a mile away and you get them out.

752

: 00:37:52

It's like, that's, that's

pretty great feeling.

753

: 00:37:55

Kyle: Yeah,

754

: 00:37:56

Gary: Something about seeing that

throw come from your hand and

755

: 00:38:00

one hop perfectly to the catcher

and they turn and get the tag.

756

: 00:38:02

There's just something

very satisfying about it.

757

: 00:38:04

Kyle: there is no doubt.

758

: 00:38:06

Gary: Your nickname is Batman.

759

: 00:38:08

A lot of people call you Batman.

760

: 00:38:09

I think CB even calls that

when we hopped on here.

761

: 00:38:11

What is the origin story of that nickname?

762

: 00:38:13

Like, when did you pick that up?

763

: 00:38:15

Who gave it to you?

764

: 00:38:15

And how does it just keep catching on

with no matter who you get teamed up with?

765

: 00:38:20

Kyle: Um, so it started last year.

766

: 00:38:22

Uh, I wasn't really on the

field much like, uh, throughout

767

: 00:38:26

the first half of the season.

768

: 00:38:28

And then we played Princeton in a

midweek and I don't really know, like,

769

: 00:38:35

I don't really know if there's like a

specific backstory to it, but I remember

770

: 00:38:39

just the night before Princeton.

771

: 00:38:41

Uh, I was watching, uh, one of the Batman

movie and like, I came out the next day

772

: 00:38:48

and I didn't start, but I got in the

game and I hit like a double and a Homer.

773

: 00:38:51

And I was just like, I just took

like, obviously a bat and then a man.

774

: 00:38:58

And I called myself Batman.

775

: 00:39:01

And I just started just talking

to myself that way and making

776

: 00:39:05

it like a positive thing.

777

: 00:39:06

And then like, when I got in the lineup,

like I would go up to the plate and I'd

778

: 00:39:10

be like, all right, Batman, here you go.

779

: 00:39:12

And then it kind of, I feel like that

carried me a little bit in the, like

780

: 00:39:15

how my mentality was and just like being

able to swing the bat because Batman,

781

: 00:39:20

like you always look at him, he's always

like the hero and he's always like,

782

: 00:39:23

he's always defeating other people and

he's just like the man of the hour.

783

: 00:39:27

And like, that's like kind of how I

took my approach in and just like felt

784

: 00:39:31

like that I could just do anything

when I just said that to myself.

785

: 00:39:35

CB: I love that.

786

: 00:39:35

The origin is literally you going, Batman.

787

: 00:39:38

Fantastic.

788

: 00:39:39

Gary: Oh, awesome.

789

: 00:39:41

Well, I wanted to ask you, you've

been with the team for a bit.

790

: 00:39:44

You've been around a

lot of different guys.

791

: 00:39:45

Yeah.

792

: 00:39:46

What are some of the odd, like

new traditions and superstitions

793

: 00:39:50

that the team is doing this year?

794

: 00:39:51

We, we always ask the pitchers

what they do in the bullpen.

795

: 00:39:54

Uh, so we've got to ask the position

players, like what are some of

796

: 00:39:56

those pregame rituals and traditions

you all have adopted this year?

797

: 00:40:01

Kyle: Um, I don't know if there's

anything really that has changed,

798

: 00:40:05

um, like from what we do.

799

: 00:40:07

And, you know, it's just, we show up

when we need to stretch and stretch

800

: 00:40:11

and take BP and, uh, BP's great.

801

: 00:40:14

And then we kind of just all go in

the locker room and bond a little bit.

802

: 00:40:16

And I don't really know if there's any

like superstition, we don't really have

803

: 00:40:20

like any team superstitions, I would say.

804

: 00:40:22

But.

805

: 00:40:23

Uh, something that is a little different

and started this weekend is this

806

: 00:40:27

the first time since I've been here.

807

: 00:40:29

We wore white pants on the road.

808

: 00:40:31

We wore white pants with Hudson

blue tops on Sunday because we

809

: 00:40:36

won with them at Harvard Park.

810

: 00:40:38

And played really well.

811

: 00:40:39

And then we just happened to

play really well too on Sunday.

812

: 00:40:42

And so you'll be seeing probably

a lot of white pant Hudson tops

813

: 00:40:47

on the road from here on out.

814

: 00:40:49

So I think that's, that's new, but

other than that, I really, I don't

815

: 00:40:53

think there's really many superstitions.

816

: 00:40:55

We have this like hitters, like before

the game, like as a team, like some

817

: 00:40:58

people have their own obviously, but

I think like as a collective group,

818

: 00:41:02

there isn't really one that I can

point out on the top of my head,

819

: 00:41:07

Gary: So it's just the

bullpen being weirdos.

820

: 00:41:10

CB: You guys gotta get TJ, TJ Aiken

on board with the thumbs down.

821

: 00:41:15

Cause he, every time he gets a hit,

y'all are in there in the dugout.

822

: 00:41:18

Like, give me your thumbs

and TJ's does not pay.

823

: 00:41:21

We gotta, we gotta lock this freshman up.

824

: 00:41:22

You know, we gotta, you're

an upperclassman Kyle.

825

: 00:41:24

You gotta take care of this kid.

826

: 00:41:27

Kyle: Yeah, TJ needs to

start doing that for sure.

827

: 00:41:29

I actually didn't notice that.

828

: 00:41:30

So next time he, I don't

know if he'll listen to this,

829

: 00:41:34

but next time he does that.

830

: 00:41:35

So starting tomorrow, he gets a

single and he doesn't do that.

831

: 00:41:38

I'm gonna have to, I'm gonna

have to, uh, get him straight.

832

: 00:41:41

CB: Yeah, he's getting in there.

833

: 00:41:42

I told him the other day, I

said, left field's yours, man.

834

: 00:41:45

Just take it.

835

: 00:41:45

And, but he's, he's getting

all these hits and just leaving

836

: 00:41:47

those guys hanging in the dugout.

837

: 00:41:48

We can't, we gotta be a team.

838

: 00:41:50

We can't do that.

839

: 00:41:51

Kyle: Yeah, that is true.

840

: 00:41:54

CB: So you've been hitting, uh, you've hit

a little bit all over the lineup, right?

841

: 00:41:57

You were leading off some, you've

hit the two hole, three hole cleanup.

842

: 00:42:01

Um, and you know, going back to

other years, obviously you've

843

: 00:42:03

hit down lower in the order too.

844

: 00:42:05

Where do you feel works best for

you or does it even matter to you?

845

: 00:42:10

Kyle: I don't think there's

really a, a specific spot that

846

: 00:42:14

works best for me, I think.

847

: 00:42:16

And I don't think there's like,

as long as I'm, to me, as long

848

: 00:42:19

as I'm hitting in the lineup.

849

: 00:42:21

Like, I feel like it doesn't really

matter where I am, but I think that

850

: 00:42:27

the way that our lineup is now has been

like very, very good and very consistent

851

: 00:42:36

from, for the last couple weeks.

852

: 00:42:38

And so I, you know, I was, I like

leading off, like I've usually

853

: 00:42:42

let off throughout my whole life.

854

: 00:42:44

Um, but I don't really think

I have a specific spot that.

855

: 00:42:50

Um, that is like, I need to be here.

856

: 00:42:54

That's the comfort level.

857

: 00:42:55

Like whether I'm in the nine, I'm in

the four, the one, two, three, seven,

858

: 00:43:00

matter what, I think just being able

to compete and win from any spot lineup

859

: 00:43:05

is what's honestly what works for me.

860

: 00:43:09

CB: Yeah, I like hearing you say that

because I mean when I when I watch it bad

861

: 00:43:13

I don't think it really matters because

you are you have a very versatile bat You

862

: 00:43:16

know, you can hit for some power when you

sometimes you can hit for you know You're

863

: 00:43:20

a great line drive hitter and I think when

you're able to Go direct to the ball and

864

: 00:43:25

use that lever because I mean, you know,

you're not a you're not a real tall guy

865

: 00:43:29

But you are, you know six foot six one.

866

: 00:43:31

I'm not sure where you're at.

867

: 00:43:32

But and you know, you're a

skinny kid But you're strong.

868

: 00:43:36

Um, and the times I see where you

know, sometimes I think you get a

869

: 00:43:39

little You know Where you're kind of

trying to coil and kind of explode.

870

: 00:43:43

And occasionally, so maybe your head

kind of going up and down and that's

871

: 00:43:46

where I've seen you struggle some, but

when you like to let this past week,

872

: 00:43:49

it was very clear, like no head still,

you're just going straight to the ball.

873

: 00:43:52

And it's like, man, you are a dangerous

hitter when you got everything

874

: 00:43:56

going in the right direction.

875

: 00:43:58

Kyle: Yeah, that is true.

876

: 00:43:59

Was at a luncheon the other

day over at the chart way.

877

: 00:44:02

And, uh, it was just a bunch of like

people that fund our scholarships here.

878

: 00:44:07

And the one guy, he was at the game.

879

: 00:44:09

He was sitting, sitting at my table

and he goes, be honest with me.

880

: 00:44:12

When the bases were loaded with two

outs at Harbor park, were you trying

881

: 00:44:16

to hit that thing over the fence?

882

: 00:44:18

And, uh, I just was honest with him.

883

: 00:44:19

I was just like, yeah, like

those first few pitches, man.

884

: 00:44:22

I was just trying to let one eat.

885

: 00:44:24

Like, there's really nothing loose.

886

: 00:44:26

We had a good lead at that time.

887

: 00:44:27

And, uh, I mean, sometimes I can, like, if

there's a spot like that and, you know, we

888

: 00:44:34

have a decent lead and I, I like hitting

with runners on like early in the count,

889

: 00:44:38

I'll try and really just explode on one.

890

: 00:44:40

And sometimes that gets me into

trouble and, you know, sometimes it

891

: 00:44:43

works out, but I think when I just

stay very calm and like, don't try

892

: 00:44:48

and do too much is when everything

starts going in the right direction,

893

: 00:44:52

CB: Yeah, I mean, it's crazy.

894

: 00:44:53

I'm I'm with you in the right situation.

895

: 00:44:55

Yeah, you got a big lead and basic

juice, man Take your hats go for it.

896

: 00:44:59

Why not?

897

: 00:45:00

But like you said then you get once

you get two strikes like alright Now

898

: 00:45:03

we're back more controlled swing So

it's it's just that kind of thought

899

: 00:45:06

process is great to hear because I

meant just probably shows the you've

900

: 00:45:10

always again You've always been a high

IQ ball player to me But just think

901

: 00:45:13

like that probably a couple years ago.

902

: 00:45:15

You might not have that

same thought process.

903

: 00:45:17

That's good to hear

904

: 00:45:17

Gary: All right, Kyle, we got one

Hudson Homers

Episode 12

23rd Apr 2024

S1E12 - Thunderstruck with Kyle Edwards

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Gary Williams